Murder scene after mum was beaten to death by son was like 'horror film'

The murder scene after a mum was bludgeoned to death by her son was like something out of a "horror film", a police officer has said.

Angela Shellis, 45, was found in the Coed y Morfa nature reserve in Prestatyn, Flintshire, on 25 October 2025.

She had been beaten to death by her son Tristan Roberts, 18, who hated women and was obsessed with violence and serial killers.

In a new Channel 4 documentary, North Wales Police officers reveal the complex investigation that culminated in Roberts' life sentence.

CCTV and doorbell camera footage, body-worn camera footage, 999 call recordings and accounts from officers detail how Roberts was brought to justice after the planned attack.

In February he pleaded guilty to murder and in March he was sentenced at Mold Crown Court to life with a minimum term of 22-and-a-half years.

Warning: This article contains distressing details

"We saw a pool of blood," a member of the public is heard telling the call handler in the episode of 999: What Happened Next.

The programme follows the police investigation, starting with the discovery of a trail of blood on the gravel path leading to Angela's body.

"The body had been dumped as if it was a piece of rubbish. It was like something out of a horror film," DC Claire Owen from North Wales Police told the programme, which was broadcast on Monday.

"Such severe injuries to the head. Horrific. The stuff of nightmares really."

The court case heard that police found a trail of blood stretching for more than 100m (330ft) on a gravel path which led them to Angela's body, which was hidden in undergrowth.

A crutch was found nearby along with a blood-soaked balaclava and a pair of gloves. Angela was using a crutch at the time of her death after injuring her knee.

A qualified teacher, Angela worked as a teaching assistant at Rhyl High School so that she had more time to spend with her family.

She had moved back to north Wales from the Luton area after she split up with her husband, the father of her two sons. Her older son was away at university at the time of her death.

Angela had also wanted to be closer to her sister, Sarah Gunther.

The Channel 4 documentary recounts another 999 call made by Sarah four hours later in which she wanted to report her sister missing after she had been unable to make contact with her.

After Tristan was arrested, footage used in the programme shows police discovering a large knife in the bath tub.

"It was a very strange scene really within the house," DC Owen said in the documentary.

"The cleaning products and the kitchen roll and the latex gloves. It implied that there was someone there that was very forensically aware within the house."

The programme also hears from DC Phil Williams from North Wales Police who was tasked with investigating Tristan's laptop, mobile phone and a Dictaphone which revealed his plans.

DC Owen added that what was on the Dictaphone was "horrifying".

During Roberts' sentencing, the court heard the first Dictaphone message said: "This is Tristan Roberts. Tonight I'm going to murder my mother with a sledgehammer."

Police also retrieved a recording lasting several hours, detailing an initial violent attack on Angela in her bedroom. She was kept prisoner inside the room for nearly four hours, with her son threatening her with a hammer and ignoring her repeated pleas for help.

Eventually, at about 03:00, Angela was persuaded to leave her house and was taken to the nature reserve where she was killed, on the pretence that she would receive medical help by someone at a local pub, and only after she was forced to wear a balaclava.

Online purchases shown in the programme also matched items found in the house following Angela's murder.

Police found evidence on Roberts' laptop that he spent hours every day online posting misogynistic and violent messages, mainly on social media platform Discord. Despite being thrown off Discord several times for violating the site's code of conduct, he returned with different aliases, 16 in total.

He also developed a morbid fascination with fictional serial killers Dexter and Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

"We seized a mini sledgehammer, and we also seized an axe, we seized knives and of note there was a balaclava. There were hammers, forensic suits, masks, gloves, and it really was like he'd been compiling a kit to use to kill Angela," DC Owen said.

The documentary also shines a light on the toll the case took on the rest of Angela's family, with DC Owen recalling how her sister looked directly at Tristan as she read out a victim impact statement in court.

Tristan's brother Ethan also had a statement read out on his behalf in which he said all his mum ever did was love Tristan.

He said: "She looked after him and put up with way more than anyone ever should have, but that was my mum - she would do anything for us, anything for him. She's the only person that's ever done anything and everything for Tristan his whole life and he's the one who's took her from us all."

Senior investigating officer from North Wales Police Dt Supt Andy Gibson said in the documentary: "Her priority was always Tristan, trying to find him help, trying to make sure that he wasn't going to be left alone. She almost put his welfare before hers."